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So I just took the leap and signed up for Viasat after 2 years with Hughesnet. The last thing I wanted to do was sign another 2-year satellite internet contract but I still can't get other service and I tested out a neighbor's Viasat service and was impressed. Long story short, I'm happy with my new service so far.
Hughesnet was horrible. They lied to me about throttled speeds on the Gen5 sales call. Told me it would be up to 3 Mbps. Wrong. It never exceeded 1.4 Mbps and browsing during peak congestion (5pm - 12am) was like dialup or worse due to the ping and jitter lagging (whether throttled or full speed). I was throttled during the day, when I do most of my work from home and there is no congestion. Customer service refused to acknowledge that degradation of service was due to congestion and always required ridiculous procedures of testing speeds on a 3rd party platform and connected via ethernet. If you were throttled, forget getting help with your service's performance. Blaming my equipment when hundreds of customers complain about the exact same issues. Besides, downloading files was never the issue. It was website load times, constant delays with net handshakes, etc.
Rant over. Viasat is consistently delivering more than the bandwidth allocated by my plan (Bronze is supposed to be 12Mbps, but usually tests around 17Mbps). Even during peak usage hours, it is delivering 10+Mbps. Streaming works better (although initial picture quality is lower than HN was but it soon clears up into good watchable quality). Websites load faster. Everything works like it seems it should and so far, the wifi router hasn't had any weird issues like the HN one did (random resets, loss of connection, DNS errors, web acceleration errors).
I'm paying $15/mo more than I was with Hughesnet but it is worth having usable internet all the time. Thanks Viasat. And to those who have complaints about Viasat-2 service: If your internet is working like mine, you don't know how good you have it until you've spent 2 years with Hughesnet! @GabeU and any other Hughesnet ppl on this forum, try out your competition and maybe you will stop evangelizing an inferior service and belittling upset HN customers over on that forum. Your awesome speed test results with HN are not the norm and I genuinely wonder if as evangelists, your traffic is prioritized like mine seemed to be anytime I complained enough.
Hughesnet was horrible. They lied to me about throttled speeds on the Gen5 sales call. Told me it would be up to 3 Mbps. Wrong. It never exceeded 1.4 Mbps and browsing during peak congestion (5pm - 12am) was like dialup or worse due to the ping and jitter lagging (whether throttled or full speed). I was throttled during the day, when I do most of my work from home and there is no congestion. Customer service refused to acknowledge that degradation of service was due to congestion and always required ridiculous procedures of testing speeds on a 3rd party platform and connected via ethernet. If you were throttled, forget getting help with your service's performance. Blaming my equipment when hundreds of customers complain about the exact same issues. Besides, downloading files was never the issue. It was website load times, constant delays with net handshakes, etc.
Rant over. Viasat is consistently delivering more than the bandwidth allocated by my plan (Bronze is supposed to be 12Mbps, but usually tests around 17Mbps). Even during peak usage hours, it is delivering 10+Mbps. Streaming works better (although initial picture quality is lower than HN was but it soon clears up into good watchable quality). Websites load faster. Everything works like it seems it should and so far, the wifi router hasn't had any weird issues like the HN one did (random resets, loss of connection, DNS errors, web acceleration errors).
I'm paying $15/mo more than I was with Hughesnet but it is worth having usable internet all the time. Thanks Viasat. And to those who have complaints about Viasat-2 service: If your internet is working like mine, you don't know how good you have it until you've spent 2 years with Hughesnet! @GabeU and any other Hughesnet ppl on this forum, try out your competition and maybe you will stop evangelizing an inferior service and belittling upset HN customers over on that forum. Your awesome speed test results with HN are not the norm and I genuinely wonder if as evangelists, your traffic is prioritized like mine seemed to be anytime I complained enough.
Posted 1 year ago
Diana, Viasat Employee
GabeU, Champion
I don't belittle customers. I refute nonsense. Big difference. I do, however, react to rants, raves and false accusations.
If a customer needs help, or asks for help, I give it to the best of my ability, and reps pick up when and where I can't or don't have that ability.
I have no reason to try the competition when my service works just fine for me.
If a customer needs help, or asks for help, I give it to the best of my ability, and reps pick up when and where I can't or don't have that ability.
I have no reason to try the competition when my service works just fine for me.
(Edited)
It's the same old story. A person has a bad experience with a provider and assumes everyone has a bad experience. Most people have good service with both isp's.
HN told me they could not get a line of site in VA. A supervisor came out said same thing! Guess what my neighbor had them come out, and right where I told them was a clear line of site, they installed his. When the supervisor realized it was me he turned down. Shrugged his shoulders said oh well and walked away. Terrible customer service. Never again.
I had HughesNet for a 2 year contract. I had trouble from the first day.
I have been a tech for a long time. I started installing TV antennas and then we got the huge dish for Satellite TV. Now? They are very small.
Hopefully all internet will be good as fiber optics expands.
HughesNet is not what they advertise. Sure you get a fast download. You get it for 12 days and then it slows to a crawl.
Then, to get streaming, I had to wait until the next month started and 12 days of high speed streaming again.
I could not ever get tech service to call back when my service died. I finally found the installer and he came and got it going, They told him that it was my equipment.
He got aggressive with them and told them that he installed this system and told them that he was their serviceman and I know you have a problem on your end!
They finally did what the serviceman told them and he got it going.
If you can’t believe your own techs, then someone needs a little training in human relations.
I can give a lot more facts about them but if you want a bad experience and you stream all the time, go get HughesNet.
Don’t believe me? Go get HughesNet and see for yourself.
I don’t really care for you that say their service is good,
It is if you don’t use it but once or twice a week,
I have been a tech for a long time. I started installing TV antennas and then we got the huge dish for Satellite TV. Now? They are very small.
Hopefully all internet will be good as fiber optics expands.
HughesNet is not what they advertise. Sure you get a fast download. You get it for 12 days and then it slows to a crawl.
Then, to get streaming, I had to wait until the next month started and 12 days of high speed streaming again.
I could not ever get tech service to call back when my service died. I finally found the installer and he came and got it going, They told him that it was my equipment.
He got aggressive with them and told them that he installed this system and told them that he was their serviceman and I know you have a problem on your end!
They finally did what the serviceman told them and he got it going.
If you can’t believe your own techs, then someone needs a little training in human relations.
I can give a lot more facts about them but if you want a bad experience and you stream all the time, go get HughesNet.
Don’t believe me? Go get HughesNet and see for yourself.
I don’t really care for you that say their service is good,
It is if you don’t use it but once or twice a week,
GabeU, Champion
HughesNet is not what they advertise. Sure you get a fast download. You get it for 12 days and then it slows to a crawl. Then, to get streaming, I had to wait until the next month started and 12 days of high speed streaming again.That's YOUR experience. My off peak speeds average in the high 40s and my peak speeds average in the high 20s to mid 30s. I can stream without issue. My speed on the last day of the month is the same as on the first day of the month. That's MY experience.
Just like is seen on these boards, the majority of the posts you read are not good because people that are satisfied with a product or service don't tend to go out of their way to say so, whereas those unhappy with a product or service often do. And I wouldn't expect anything different on a support community.
Edit: I should add that no ISP is perfect. And I firmly believe that both my own and ViaSat strive to provide the best service possible.
(Edited)
"I had to wait until the next month started and 12 days of high speed streaming again."
Again, another person who uses all of his priority data up and then complains. Doesn't matter if it's Hughes, Viasat, Verizon,....
Again, another person who uses all of his priority data up and then complains. Doesn't matter if it's Hughes, Viasat, Verizon,....
(Edited)
You don’t tell the full truth and you lie and deceive in your answers. I have made statements about HughesNet abd you answer with deception. Priority only means that you don’t get any more streaming.
Don’t lie and deceive. Viasat may not be any better. I just know that Hughes bet is good for only 12-14 days no matter what you say. I uploaded a photo and it shows the data drops to 0 after 13 days.
Don’t lie and deceive. Viasat may not be any better. I just know that Hughes bet is good for only 12-14 days no matter what you say. I uploaded a photo and it shows the data drops to 0 after 13 days.
Maybe you should have taken advantage of that 38.4 GB of Bonus Zone data you had left to preserve some of that 50 GB anytime data - probably could have stretched it to 21 days at the rate you were burning it.
(Edited)
I'm confused.
GabeU, Champion
David Keith,
Lies and deception? You mean like claiming that HughesNet throttles people after thirteen days while inadvertently revealing in your next post that the reason you were being throttled, at least in that picture, which is from nearly a year ago, is because you burned through all of your Anytime Data? Like that kind of deception? HughesNet didn't burn through all of your Anytime Data in thirteen days. YOU did. They aren't responsible for how you use your data, nor how quickly you exhaust it.
One thing people will never be able to accuse me of, with any truth, is telling lies and being deceptive. I don't do so, and never have. I give people my experience. And any answer that I give that is of the definitive type is something that can be answered definitively, not something that is unique to the customer, like speed or how long data will last. As I state very often, a customer's experience is unique to them.
You accuse me of lies and deception. Give examples to support your allegations.
Lies and deception? You mean like claiming that HughesNet throttles people after thirteen days while inadvertently revealing in your next post that the reason you were being throttled, at least in that picture, which is from nearly a year ago, is because you burned through all of your Anytime Data? Like that kind of deception? HughesNet didn't burn through all of your Anytime Data in thirteen days. YOU did. They aren't responsible for how you use your data, nor how quickly you exhaust it.
One thing people will never be able to accuse me of, with any truth, is telling lies and being deceptive. I don't do so, and never have. I give people my experience. And any answer that I give that is of the definitive type is something that can be answered definitively, not something that is unique to the customer, like speed or how long data will last. As I state very often, a customer's experience is unique to them.
You accuse me of lies and deception. Give examples to support your allegations.
I'm confused.So am I, I could swear Macintosh has a screen capture capability and it's no longer a requirement to take a selfie of your monitor. Maybe not and Apple isn't as advanced as we're led to believe...
I really don't know, the last time I considered using an Apple product was when I installed a TV antenna on my roof as a prerequisite to a networking certification.
(Edited)
No, I'm confused about if Stephan had garlic or onions on his pizza.
Gabe says it was pineapple, but I think he's trying to deceive us. If Stephen verifies it's garlic/onion then we've got him!
(Edited)
I have heard that Gabe knows his pineapples!
Stephen Rice, Champion
Thin crust with BBQ sauce, cheese, pineapple and buttery garlic stuff on the edge of the crust.
GabeU, Champion
AH HA!!! See, I know my pineapples. LMAO!
My apologies... you shall ever be known as Dances with Pineapples.
GabeU, Champion
Now for the serious stuff. Pineapple should NEVER be anywhere near a pizza. Ever.
GabeU, Champion
Eh. It's not that bad when the pizza has a sweeter type of sauce and when it has ham on it, as well. And I would take pineapple on my pizza any day before BBQ sauce. Now THAT'S a travesty! But, to each his/her own. People put just about anything you can think of on pizza these days, and the major chains often acquiesce to the more popular, but non-traditional, toppings.
(Edited)
Stephen Rice, Champion
I get the crust smothered with garlic stuff to compliment the BBQ sauce and pineapple.
I just wish Pizza hut had an oregano topping to put on the pineapple. Domino's does but I like pizza hut better.
I just wish Pizza hut had an oregano topping to put on the pineapple. Domino's does but I like pizza hut better.
GabeU, Champion
I really liked Pizza Hut for a while. When I lived in Hagerstown, MD I had one right down the street, and it was right around the time they they had come out with their "bigger, fresher toppings" campaign (late 90s to early 00s). It was good. But after a few years they went back to the same ole, same ole, and I lost interest. The nearest Pizza Hut to me now is 20 miles away.
A couple of my co-workers switched to Viasat recently after being with HN for years. They are both very satisfied with their decision.
Yes, and there are those that have switched from Viasat to HN that are very satisfied. We see it here once in a while.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Which begs the question, who has dumped Viasat for Hughesnet? Anybody?
I have yet to meet anyone in my area who has switched to HN from Viasat.
Stephen Rice, Champion
I guess y'all forgot about Fred G Sanford.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Some posters are never forgotten. Others we want to quickly forget!
Don’t go to Hughesnet because they service is sucks Viasat is the best !!!
GabeU, Champion
Which begs the question, who has dumped Viasat for Hughesnet? Anybody?I imagine it's not the best place to ask that question. With that said, I've seen some.
Of course. The difference in the two sat. services are probably not really worth arguing over. The plans and data and free zones are just a personnel preference.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
I was registered in the Hughesnet board at one time, but haven't been on there in years!
GabeU, Champion
Unfortunately, with the new boards, you have to be a customer to be able to create an account and post. The advantage is that it cuts WAY down on trolling and spamming, but it's unfortunate in that prospective customers can't sign in and ask questions, which I think they should be able to do.
I think we all feel nearly the same about GetSat, but anyone can get on this board and ask questions about ViaSat, which is good.
Edit: I should add that I was only acknowledging the limitations of the HughesNet board and not at all suggesting that's the reason you haven't been on there in years. LOL.
I think we all feel nearly the same about GetSat, but anyone can get on this board and ask questions about ViaSat, which is good.
Edit: I should add that I was only acknowledging the limitations of the HughesNet board and not at all suggesting that's the reason you haven't been on there in years. LOL.
(Edited)
GabeU, Champion
Of course. The difference in the two sat. services are probably not really worth arguing over. The plans and data and free zones are just a personnel preference.Agreed. And the way I look at it, the better both services are the better the competition, and that's great for all of us.
The folks I know who have switched to Viasat from HN are mainly satisfied because of more data being available to them for a similar price. None of them have mentioned that performance is any different.
I was with Hughesnet for several years before switching to Viasat 3 years ago. My HN service was OK, but had slow speeds in the evenings, and not great data packages at the time. When I switched to Viasat, things were really nice, higher data package and more consistent speeds. Customer service at HN was horrible, since I am just a cute one armed farm girl, later turned science teacher, couldn't understand the Indian speaking folks on the phone. When I first switched to Viasat, their customer service was still located in the USA with agents that spoke my language. That later changed, but I never called CS, but used the emails to Viasat listens for the very few problems I had. My satisfaction with Viasat changed when they changed their data policy to slow down speeds even if I hadn't used all my priority data yet.
Times change, companies change, and one must keep on top of these changes for their best service.
Times change, companies change, and one must keep on top of these changes for their best service.
(Edited)
Hughesnet customer service sucks. Viasat customer service sucks. As far as the service it will depend on the area you are in. Hughesnet uses more powerful compression technology. Viasat has more powerful satellites. Congestion can be and is a problem is some areas on both. Is this now the church of Viasat?
GabeU, Champion
Hughesnet uses more powerful compression technology.Actually, at least in my experience and some others, while Gen4's compression was fantastic, Gen5's isn't, or in my case, it's seemingly nonexistent.
When I had Gen4, I would see data usage comparisons that were always in my favor with Glasswire and my router vs HughesNet. When Glasswire and my router would say 8GB, HughesNet would say 3.5GB or 4GB, as an example. Now, with Gen5, the tallies are virtually even.
Unfortunately, for some of the people that don't have the tools to make the comparisons that I do, when seeing the difference after an upgrade to Gen5 they automatically assume that HughesNet is "stealing" their data, never realizing that Gen4 just had great data compression.
I don't know if they had to forego the compression for Gen5 or what, but there's definitely a difference, at least for me and those who have mentioned it.
Luckily, when I upgraded from Gen4 to Gen5 I went up from my 15GB Gen4 plan instead of down, though I certainly contemplated doing the latter. With 20GB I'm fine, but I would be having a hard time with 10GB. Still, the price I pay is actually a few bucks less than I was with Gen4, so getting the higher data package works out in the end.
"Hughesnet customer service sucks. Viasat customer service sucks."
Well, at least Ronald is consistent!
Well, at least Ronald is consistent!
VeteranSatUser, Champion
He should try Spectrum. They have a call center near me. Yes, they provide customer support. But they are also pressured to sell plan upgrades and more services while doing it. Very annoying.
Stephen Rice, Champion
I just wish my freaking treadmill would work. I need to lose 20 pounds by September 21st.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Have a new subordinate to stress about. I have lost 20 pounds this summer dealing with that. One never knows if a millennial new hire will work out. Lol
Stephen Rice, Champion
Limiting ones self to 750 calories a day can work wonders for weight loss. I was hoping to do 2 miles a day on the treadmill too but the motor keeps stopping.
GabeU, Champion
Heck, I wouldn't mind gaining 20 pounds.
Ronald is correct. Most company's customer service does suck.
Stephen Rice, Champion
Diet is going pretty well. I was at 190 lbs this past Sunday. This morning I weighed in at 181.8 lbs.
Only 12 more pounds to go.
Only 12 more pounds to go.
GabeU, Champion
That's a lot of weight to lose in six days. But, congrats!
VeteranSatUser, Champion
I could lose that much in a hot day!
Of course, I got a lot more to lose. Lol
Of course, I got a lot more to lose. Lol
Stephen Rice, Champion
I had iHop for lunch today.
I partied with a pole dancer tonight.
Stephen Rice, Champion
It appears Captain Kirk has us all beat. It's time for me to turn in my internets card.
I'm sort of kidding. She's an old friend who happens to be a dancer and we hung out tonight after not seeing each other for a while. Totally off topic, but oh well.
Stephen Rice, Champion
Was she one of Mudd's women?
I wish, though she does look like one of the girls on the new Star Trek Discovery series.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
The trouble with tribbles!
"Totally off topic, but oh well."
I don't understand what you mean?.... :-)
I don't understand what you mean?.... :-)
(Edited)
Stephen Rice, Champion
Using up your priority data makes a huge difference. I am on Liberty 12. I'm paying for 12 Gb of speeds up to 12 mbps. My current speed is 13 mbps.
I rarely go over my 12 gb of priority data thanks to the late night free zone. If I were out of data, my speed would be around 256 kbps tonight and up to 5 mbps during the early morning and day.
I rarely go over my 12 gb of priority data thanks to the late night free zone. If I were out of data, my speed would be around 256 kbps tonight and up to 5 mbps during the early morning and day.
Yes, we know that.
As Ian and I both said, neither of us is out of priority data.
As Ian and I both said, neither of us is out of priority data.
Right, it's like we're still de-prioritized (throttled) after the billing and data reset. Chat customer service says to call tech support because "everything appears to be working as it should." Ugh... been through that with Hughes plenty. Is this also your second month or have you had the service for longer and it doesn't usually do this? Or does it do this every month if you use up your data in the prior month?
I've had it for longer -- about 6 months -- and it's often (not always, but very very very often) this bad in the evenings. De-prioritized seems to be the difference between 100 kbps (after) and 250-350 kbps (with priority data remaining). It's so bad that we are routinely driving an hour round trip nearly every weeknight so my high schooler can do his homework in the county library, for lack of usable internet at home.
I don't think Stephen grasps that some beams are insanely congested and this is our normal, *even with priority data.*
I don't think Stephen grasps that some beams are insanely congested and this is our normal, *even with priority data.*
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
He doesnt. Then he likes to think his experience is typical, when it is really atypical for many of us on congested beams.
It is not unusual during primetime to see my speed with priority data hover around 300 - 500kbps
Just wait until the holidays....
It is not unusual during primetime to see my speed with priority data hover around 300 - 500kbps
Just wait until the holidays....
Oh man... I don't want to hear that... But unfortunately I'm used to that with Hughesnet.
Well I called tech support and it was a pretty long call but better experience than HN. They tested their throughput to the modem and it said it should be 7 Mbps. We did a hard modem reset but let it sit unplugged for more than 2 minutes. Since it rebooted, speeds have been creeping back up to normal. It appears to have helped considerably but the test will be daytime. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
Data reset was 12:01 AM, 9/24/18. Long modem reboot was just before the 11:04 PM speed test of 2.2 Mbps.
Well I called tech support and it was a pretty long call but better experience than HN. They tested their throughput to the modem and it said it should be 7 Mbps. We did a hard modem reset but let it sit unplugged for more than 2 minutes. Since it rebooted, speeds have been creeping back up to normal. It appears to have helped considerably but the test will be daytime. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
Data reset was 12:01 AM, 9/24/18. Long modem reboot was just before the 11:04 PM speed test of 2.2 Mbps.
GabeU, Champion
Wasn't there someone a month or two ago who was still being "prioritized", even though their data had reset the day before? I'm trying to find the thread, but I'm not having luck.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Dont you mean deprioritzed?
Prioritized simply means to place in order by importance - "deprioritized" isn't a word although commonly accepted as one (probably why it's showing a spellcheck error for me). Really depends which dictionary is used - I tend to rely on Webster or Cambridge for Scrabble challenges - but just about anything is a word in Urban and on the Interweb we get to make up our own - so next time playing suggest use of the Urban Dictionary for word challenges ;)
Technically, prioritized must be qualified with where something is placed in that order which is probably why Viasat states:
Prioritized in and of itself doesn't imply receiving priority - although generally accepted nowadays as meaning it.
But yeah regardless of preference, I do recall that thread Gabe and yes it was a failure to fully reset - usage count did but speeds didn't until some time after the reset date - my guess is the modem missed a wake up call to fully restore speed.
The bigger problem besides definition is that few seem to know what it entails or even that it exists after all this time.
Technically, prioritized must be qualified with where something is placed in that order which is probably why Viasat states:
...we may prioritize your data behind other customers during network congestion."Must be a purist among their technical writers or marketing staff or more likely the spell checker kept flagging deprioritized as an error and were simply trying to avoid it and we haven't even started the debate over the use of may in that statement ;)
Prioritized in and of itself doesn't imply receiving priority - although generally accepted nowadays as meaning it.
But yeah regardless of preference, I do recall that thread Gabe and yes it was a failure to fully reset - usage count did but speeds didn't until some time after the reset date - my guess is the modem missed a wake up call to fully restore speed.
The bigger problem besides definition is that few seem to know what it entails or even that it exists after all this time.
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Old Labs. You sure Jab hasn't taken over your account? Lol
Why dont we just say you are put at the back of the line!
Why dont we just say you are put at the back of the line!
Nope Jab is elsewhere arguing with himself, words matter - but yeah put at the back of the line and others who haven't exceeded their usage threshold even get to cut in front of you when they arrive - you may stay at the end of the line.
But that doesn't explain the complaint raised here - that they are still being "prioritized" after data reset. But the "speed test" (speed doesn't mean speed either, and unlimited doesn;t mean unlimited so apparently words don't matter), suggests normal congestion on an overly crowded beam given the date/times posted in the test results.
But that doesn't explain the complaint raised here - that they are still being "prioritized" after data reset. But the "speed test" (speed doesn't mean speed either, and unlimited doesn;t mean unlimited so apparently words don't matter), suggests normal congestion on an overly crowded beam given the date/times posted in the test results.
(Edited)
Stephen Rice, Champion
Y'all need to move to Louisiana and get on my beam.
If we all do that, Stephen, you won't have an uncongested beam anymore :)
Though we could all at least take comfort in the truly excellent food and scenery down there.
Though we could all at least take comfort in the truly excellent food and scenery down there.
I would but appears it I would have to give up my Liberty Plan and VeteranSatUser would clearly need to give up his Freedom Plan,
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Only maybe to move where one of those mythical high density spot beams reside. They are sort of like bigfoot. Rumored to exist, but difficult if not impossible to find.
Not that hard to find in LA.
Baton Rouge - Platinum 100, 1080p, 150GB - $200/mo.
Of course probably better choices than satellite in Baton Rouge ;)
Baton Rouge - Platinum 100, 1080p, 150GB - $200/mo.
Of course probably better choices than satellite in Baton Rouge ;)
(Edited)
GabeU, Champion
Dont you mean deprioritzed?You know what I mean. :)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
I guess I could always contact one of those random links that get posted on here about HP or Epson or whatever the support line of the hour is. I am sure they would explain it!
Old Labs, yeah, the time spread in those results isn't optimal. My schedule is all over the place... So, I'll definitely run some more next time I can during the daytime.
My thoughts also went to the normal speed changes as one enters, exists in, and exits the peak usage timeframe. So I wasn't entirely convinced that the 2-minute power down caused the speed increase. But my gut tells me it did because immediately after the reset, web pages loaded within a few seconds rather than 30 seconds to a minute like when I was out of data. I reiterate that before I ran out of data in the prior month, I was getting 5-10 Mbps throughout peak usage hours.
I get that download speed tests only give us an average picture of the service over time. Web page load times are probably longer for the same amount of data vs a download test due to the large amount of querying and responses on modern web pages and long satellite ping times.
This isn't meant to be a knock on any specific satellite provider but the next time I move, terrestrial or wireless internet service will be a requirement, not an afterthought. Stephen, your comment that we should move for a better beam almost made me ROFL. But yeah, I do like Louisiana.
My thoughts also went to the normal speed changes as one enters, exists in, and exits the peak usage timeframe. So I wasn't entirely convinced that the 2-minute power down caused the speed increase. But my gut tells me it did because immediately after the reset, web pages loaded within a few seconds rather than 30 seconds to a minute like when I was out of data. I reiterate that before I ran out of data in the prior month, I was getting 5-10 Mbps throughout peak usage hours.
I get that download speed tests only give us an average picture of the service over time. Web page load times are probably longer for the same amount of data vs a download test due to the large amount of querying and responses on modern web pages and long satellite ping times.
This isn't meant to be a knock on any specific satellite provider but the next time I move, terrestrial or wireless internet service will be a requirement, not an afterthought. Stephen, your comment that we should move for a better beam almost made me ROFL. But yeah, I do like Louisiana.
Stephen Rice, Champion
Louisiana is a free country unlike some parts of the USA. We've got lots of freedom and plenty of seafood.
I'm in Western NC. The coast is 5 hours away but perhaps medium freedom (not sure exactly what you mean), deep forested mountains and super clean water with trout. And Bluegrass music. Can you hear the banjos?
VeteranSatUser, Champion
I saw Deliverance. I dont want to hear the banjos!!!
Ian, I'm in Western NC as well, close to Blowing Rock. Where are you?
@VeteranSatUser, to be fair, Deliverance was Georgia... a few hours away.
@fmj77, 9 miles into the woods from where I-26 crosses into Tenn. Technically the town of Marshall, north of Asheville. I'm in the back of a 200 acre cove, a 20 minute drive to civilization. I go to Avery county somewhat frequently. That's the true high country up your way.
@fmj77, 9 miles into the woods from where I-26 crosses into Tenn. Technically the town of Marshall, north of Asheville. I'm in the back of a 200 acre cove, a 20 minute drive to civilization. I go to Avery county somewhat frequently. That's the true high country up your way.
Your area is pretty nice as well, although I tend to avoid Asheville these days. It's become a little too "progressive" for my taste.
Lol, fmj, I thought you liked freedom! But for real, the new age hippy thing is out of hand and part of the reason I moved from Asheville 45 minutes into the country.
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Boone is nothing like it use to be either. But I agree about Asheville.
Beautiful country though. In another month there will be fantastic scenery.
Beautiful country though. In another month there will be fantastic scenery.
Yeah. Boone has lost that small town atmosphere in the last 20 years or so. The growth of ASU is mostly to blame for that. But you can still drive a few miles from town and be in some pretty backwoods country.
DavidBrowserGuy, Browser Expert
Diana, Viasat Employee
Hello Elizabeth, Gabe is correct about the DSS as being your account number. I have removed that post as this is a public forum. Have you resolved your issue?
GabeU, Champion
Thanks, Diana. :)
Hughes net before running out... Never above 4 Mbps download I've never seen even 1 Mbps upload always kbps
GabeU, Champion
That's not really a speed test. For a speed test you should try speedtest.net or testmy.net.
Does anyone know it viastats wifi router has a open port to run an ethernet cable for a extended wifi antenna.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Which one you asking about? Each has at least one port.
I've been with Hughes net for 3 years or more. Gen 5 was nice for a while, but has stopped working at night. Their customer service said its a known issue and offered me a discount. I've had nothing but trouble from Hughes net.
Viasat can't be any worse. If I have any internet at all, it will be better. Does anyone know if a Viasat Router has 5 ghz?
Viasat can't be any worse. If I have any internet at all, it will be better. Does anyone know if a Viasat Router has 5 ghz?
I've found Viasat to be an overall better experience. There's still a bit of slowdown during primetime but not as significant as HN. Plus the lowest Viasat plan gives you 40 GB before throttling. The data policy/throttling is fairer in my opinion too as it isn't a hard throttle, instead "deprioritization". It pretty much only happens during prime time, the rest of the time you get full speeds. But the primetime throttle will prevent streaming pretty much (slower than HN throttle). Yes, the router has simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and an Ethernet port.
A lot depends on location. Viasat where I live? No way would I recommend it. A guy on here recently switched from Viasat to Hughesnet (he lives in my general area). Hughesnet is cheaper, has better plans, free installation, and has performed better for him. Others, like the posters above, find Viasat better.
I have had both, and find Viasat better for many years. I wouldn't say that anymore and if I was to get satellite internet again, I would not get Viasat.
I have had both, and find Viasat better for many years. I wouldn't say that anymore and if I was to get satellite internet again, I would not get Viasat.
As of January, ViaSat changed their "policy" which basically meant that they throttle during PrimeTime regardless of your contract. We have a grandfathered Freedom plan, which has a 150Gb data cap. It was acceptable to good until the "policy" change. As of now, it is terrible (daytime usage is an exception - it is at least acceptable) to the extent that we cannot stream at all during the evenings, even when we have used little of our cap.
This "policy" change was a transparent attempt to drive folk off older (and better) plans to newer (more restricted) plans - less data for more money. Frankly, the only reason we remain with ViaSat is because we have nowhere else to go. ViaSat clearly does not give a damn. They don't care if we are happy, they don't even care if we leave. Their focus has shifted from residential to commercial/government and they'd be happiest if their residential customers went elsewhere.
I wish they would return to the company they had been before the launch of ViaSat-2 and the shift in company strategy. Perhaps if ViaSat-2 had not been compromised, they might not have adjusted their strategy to be so openly hostile to the residential market. The reality is 1) they did make that shift; 2) Their customers are openly and vocally pissed about it and 3) they do not care.
I'd sure like to find the "old" ViaSat. Has anyone seen them?
This "policy" change was a transparent attempt to drive folk off older (and better) plans to newer (more restricted) plans - less data for more money. Frankly, the only reason we remain with ViaSat is because we have nowhere else to go. ViaSat clearly does not give a damn. They don't care if we are happy, they don't even care if we leave. Their focus has shifted from residential to commercial/government and they'd be happiest if their residential customers went elsewhere.
I wish they would return to the company they had been before the launch of ViaSat-2 and the shift in company strategy. Perhaps if ViaSat-2 had not been compromised, they might not have adjusted their strategy to be so openly hostile to the residential market. The reality is 1) they did make that shift; 2) Their customers are openly and vocally pissed about it and 3) they do not care.
I'd sure like to find the "old" ViaSat. Has anyone seen them?
I was fine too until the started fiddling with things. As a consumer of the product, I wasnt going to stand for it. I dropped them and found alternatives.
Just a few more years and rural folks should have more and much better options. What with the Low Earth Orbit internet constellations approved by FCC and going up now. HN is building the SpaceX ground/gateway network for 12,000 satellites. Apparently we'll be able to get 100 Mbps with low ping rates since the constellations will be a few hundred miles up rather than. 22,000 miles and over the equator. I'm quite hopeful.
I hope things get better. This is my performance this evening. Can’t get much worse. 
That's what the guy that has Hughesnet said :)
A few years is a long time to wait with poor internet service. Fiber through the power company is a few miles away to my east and west... But they say it costs up to $40k to connect each customer so it will probably be a few years yet. Too deep in a valley for fixed wireless. They'd probably have to put a relay on my mountain and that's apparently not worth it since there isn't much line of site to homes. Cellular is pretty much the same.
So it looks like I'll be suffering with you all until the Low Earth satellites are up and running. Fiber sounds like a dream though. Their customers are getting 1Gbps download for less than $100/month.
So it looks like I'll be suffering with you all until the Low Earth satellites are up and running. Fiber sounds like a dream though. Their customers are getting 1Gbps download for less than $100/month.
Yes, a few years is a long time to wait. My cooperative has created a subsidiary to provide broadband and we have nearly completed the engineering phase. We are now doing “make ready” work on ROWs and poles and hope to break ground on the actual fiber installation in October. However, full system deployment is estimated at 6 years (3,500 miles of line and 16,000+ members) and I expect at my location it will be at best 3 years before they get fiber to me. So, I will have at least one more year after my 2 year contract expires with Viasat. At this point, I have to say that Viasat performance is as bad as, and often worse, than was Frontier DSL and that was really bad. The big difference is that poor DSL performance costs less than $50/month vs. $100/month for Viasat. So, may plan is to send back the hardware at the end of the contract and swallow hard and move back to DSL to bridge the gap until fiber arrives.
Given that the lowest service level my co-op plans to offer is 100 Mbps, it will be heaven on earth.
Given that the lowest service level my co-op plans to offer is 100 Mbps, it will be heaven on earth.
(Edited)
Mark Davis
Dontrellz Page
I wish we could get on the new satellite Viasat 2 in Mississippi all we knew for is poor service
Regina
Anniem05
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Please report what you think of Viasat once you get it installed.
GabeU, Champion
It is possible, though, that you've been hacked via your WiFi. If that's the case, it's someone very close to you. They would have to be within about 150 feet of your modem, at the very most, and most likely closer than that. Any further than that and it becomes impossible, unless you are using a 3rd party router with more WiFi range. If this is what's happening, it's also possible that they've installed some type of software on your system that allows them to know what keystrokes you have input, or to even be able to see your passwords through your networked devices.
It's also possible that you've downloaded some type of malware, rather than being hacked. Malware can cause high data usage. This is more likely than having been hacked.
With that said, the majority of the time data is being used it's actually being used by one or more connected devices, and not from hacking or malware.
Make sure to run your Antivirus scan(s). Also, if you don't already have it, Malwarebytes is a very good, and often recommended, scanner for Malware. It's also free. It's important to do this, as if what is causing the data usage isn't discovered and remedied, it's unlikely that it will stop with your new ISP.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Anniem05
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
HughesNet's IP addresses change often, sometimes more than once each day, and even if someone did happen to get into your system without anything being downloaded to your device(s) and allowing them to home in quickly, the second the IP address changed they would be gone, and then they would have to find their way back in. Unless there is some specific reason you're being targeted, it's highly unlikely that anyone would be wasting all of their time trying to hack you, then try to hack you again, over and over and over, as it would take a considerable amount of time to do so. Each time, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack that's among dozens of other haystacks.
What is it this person is doing?
GabeU, Champion
If not, I would suggest doing so. A corporate based rep will be able to help if they're needed.
Anniem05
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Good luck!
GabeU, Champion
Regarding your computers, I wouldn't replace them. I would just replace the hard drives, as if there is a nefarious program on your system, that's where it will reside. If they're Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 computers and you don't have recovery media on DVDs, you can download new copies from Microsoft and install it. If they came with Windows 10, it's even easier as they will automatically activate due to Microsoft's system already having your digital license saved. You can get new drives fairly cheap, and even SSDs are becoming much more affordable per GB.
Then, of course, never connect or use anything with them again that could have had things downloaded to them, like flash drives or RW media. And download all programs fresh, of course.
I have Webroot, too. It's a great AV. Plus, it's data usage friendly. :)
Again, I hope someone can help you. I hate that you have had to deal with all that. :(
Edit: I meant recovery media on DVDs that came with the system, not that you created afterwards. The latter could include the problem.
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
The first is that HughesNet's phone service ranges from adequate at best to totally useless at worst. This is why I recommended their Support Community. It's the best way to get help. There are both knowledgeable customers and corporate reps who have direct access to the engineers.
And please understand that I'm not trying to be a jerk, nor sound like one, but the second one is that HughesNet isn't responsible for this type of issue, nor figuring it out, though they will attempt to do so when you ask on their Support Community.
Being that I can't help you, I'll get out of the way. Good luck to you.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Again, best of luck, but I don't see how your ISP is responsible at all.
Anniem05
In fact, in spite of everything, I have been a Hughes.net customer for over 10 years. I would say I have been pretty loyal. Wouldn't you?
Stephen Rice, Champion
GabeU, Champion
Regarding the HughesNet thread, if you're referring to the one titled "Hacked Router", I was a part of that thread and continued to follow it. While it's clear something happened with the person's system, what the person assumed happened didn't, and couldn't, yet they were dead set on what they assumed being the only possibility rather than any of the other possibilities listed.
I don't think anyone here is dismissing your issue, only the assumed cause.
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
Did you see this system log in the Connected Device Info or in the Wifi settings section? If one of those, did it say LAN or WiFi for the connection?
Like I said above, though, their phone help ranges from adequate to totally useless. It sounds like you got the latter, that time.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
What you describe sounds like a device is/was connected in your home. Did it actually say "Samsung TV"?
Anniem05
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
BTW, in case you didn't see my post below, which I've subsequently deleted, and which I tried to post before someone replied to your post and locked it so that you couldn't edit or delete it, NEVER post your DSS. That's your account number.
Maybe a rep will see this and delete you post for you.
fmj77
GabeU, Champion
Anniem05
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
I definitely would look into what fmj recommended, especially before you start with ViaSat just to make sure your PCs are clean. Or, like the option I gave, install new hard drives and reinstall software from sources you know to be safe.
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
Anniem05
GabeU, Champion
Anniem05
Anniem05
Casual Observer
Anniem05
Anniem05
Anniem05
Anniem05
Casual Observer
https://community.hughesnet.com/
Anniem05
Casual Observer
GabeU, Champion
Anniem05
deb dour
Casual Observer
Anniem05
Casual Observer
Many long time subscribers however have opted to extend it with their own third party router since the Viasat modem/router only offers basic features.
GabeU, Champion
Sorry the issue couldn't be resolved, but I'm glad that you have ViaSat as an alternative. Another HughesNet user just switched and, thus far, appears to be very pleased.